Morning Links: The wages of road rage sin, bike thieves get busy (and get caught), and how car wrecks happen

January 23, 2015 / / 2 comments

Ohio bike lawyer Steve Magas observes that we don’t need to call LA’s bike boogeyman Doctor Christopher Thompson anymore.

In the good ex-doctor’s case, the wages of sin were several years in prison, loss of his medical license and a substantial civil settlement. Just in case you were wondering if road rage was worth it.

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Bike thieves are in the news this week, as Santa Monica police catch one in the act, and two men are arrested for poaching a Palm Springs bait bike. Less luck in San Diego, where several bikes have been stolen since the first on the year.

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The CHP lists the 11 most common causes of collisions — 10 of which can be avoided simply by changing driver behavior.

And few, if any, of which probably will be.

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You’ve got just a few more days left to win this one-of-a-kind, belt-driven titanium bike.

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Local

Flying Pigeon notes that nothing happened on North Fig until the rabble rose up and demanded action.

LA’s Multicultural Communities for Mobility show how community organizing can help improve health through bicycling.

Ciclavalley offers thoughts on the Valley CicLAvia.

A stretch of Venice Blvd west of Western has been freshly repaved and should soon get the bike lanes called for in the 2010 bike plan.

The LACBC shares photos from Wednesday’s Operation Firefly in DTLA, and announces dates for future light giveaways.

Bikerowave hosts their monthly open house today.

Metro plans to select a vendor for the coming bike share network in LA and Pasadena.

 

State

An Anaheim cyclist was injured in a collision Thursday morning; the driver fled the scene but came back an hour later. And no, that should not excuse the hit-and-run; drivers are required to stop and render aid, as well as exchange insurance information, in the event of a collision.

San Clemente approves plans to upgrade their beachfront bike path.

East Bakersfield gets 20 miles of new sharrows. While I have walked the streets of Bakersfield, I have yet to bike them, sharrowed or otherwise.

Paso Robles’ Great Western Bicycle Rally begins this coming Monday.

An apparently invisible Santa Maria cyclist suffers major injuries when he’s hit by an unlicensed driver.

Palo Alto approves plans for two new bike boulevards, the first of 20 planned safety improvements.

The San Francisco Examiner says enforcement of the state’s new three-foot passing law is off to a slow start. Actually, nine citations in the first four months is pretty good; cyclists in other states often complain that police haven’t issued any.

 

National

Former Charlotte mayor and current US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx challenges America’s mayors to improve bike and pedestrian safety.

How to print your own carbon mountain bike.

Honolulu businesses say a new protected bike lane is harming sales, despite numerous studies that say they’re good for business.

Add South Dakota to the list of states considering a three-foot passing law.

The most interesting car at the Detroit Auto Show isn’t one.

A banjo playing musician bikes 1,400 miles along the Mississippi River for a gig in New Orleans.

Grist looks at Louisville KY’s new underground bike park. We can’t do that here because it would disturb the Lizard People.

After a Georgia cyclist is hit by a car while trying to cross a street, he gets a ticket for riding in the street — which is legal in every state in the US.

Miami cyclists demand safety improvements after yet another rider loses his life on the city’s deadly Rickenbacker Causeway; the allegedly drunken hit-and-run driver returned 20 minutes later, reportedly crying hysterically.

A 72-year old Florida woman shoots three times at a man riding his bike home from work in an attempt to scare him, for reasons apparently known only to her.

 

International

Ouch. Calgary cyclists say don’t compare their bike-friendly city to bicycle-challenged Houston.

London’s Evening Standard looks at the latest tech devices that promise to transform your ride. Or you could just, you know, go out and ride your bike.

A Brit cyclist has his $2,500 mountain bike stolen while lying on the street after being struck by an SUV.

We’ve all thought about it, right? A British cyclist argues with a motorist, then gets off his bike and snaps off the driver’s key in the ignition before riding away; police are looking for the suspect.

A 21-year old cyclist rides over 4,300 miles across Egypt in four months.

Great. Now even using a bike bell to alert pedestrians to your presence is considered rude by some Aussies. Personally, I find polite voice warnings work better, anyway, with rude ones when called for.

 

Finally…

Repeat after me: if you’re carrying crystal meth on your bike, don’t ride salmon. More proof bicycling is becoming mainstream, as even Spongebob is doing it.

And Elly Blue asked Twitter users what difficulties they went through when they first learned to ride a bike, then Storified the responses; my own comment wraps it up.

 

Category: Dr. Christopher Thompson, Morning Links, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Catching up with the local blogs, better PR from LADOT, and BWB at the Kingdom Day Parade

January 21, 2015 / / 4 comments

It’s been awhile since we’ve checked in with some of the local blogs, thanks mostly to my recent move.

And yes, we’re finally making progress.

Most of the boxes are unpacked; the rest are waiting for me to figure out how to manipulate time and space by cramming in more stuff than the apartment will hold.

And maybe even uncover my bike in the process.

Let’s start with the wit and wisdom of Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson, who figuratively dances on the grave of a retiring bike-hating sheriff’s deputy, and celebrates a successful bike ticket legal strategy that resulted victory over the absent officer who wrote it.

Meanwhile, CLR Effect’s Michael Wagner laments the end of ‘cross season, goes riding with the girlz and considers the possibility of biking with a shark fin up your, uh, crack.

Bicycle Fixation has an LA-oriented bike URL for sale.

Better Bike considers whether bike share will come to the Biking Black Hole, which might force Beverly Hills to make the streets safer for any locals and tourists who might actually use it.

And BikeSD says hit-and-run is not the epidemic in our neighbor to the south that it is here, but it’s still a problem.

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LADOT may not have transformed out streets in the few months since Seleta Reynolds was hired to lead the agency, but they’ve certainly improved their communication with the public, to wit —

Although they did license that music before using it, right?

On the other hand, they seem to have established a temporary bike parking tow-away zone in DTLA. Thanks to Richard for the heads-up.

Bike rack no parking

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No profiling here.

South LA’s Real Rydaz and Black Kids on Bikes get stopped for Biking While Black — while participating in annual the Kingdom Day parade, no less.

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Local

A $10,000 reward has been offered in the shooting of a Rolls Royce-driving real estate mogul in Hollywood. Although I wonder if the press would identify the shooter by transportation mode if he’d been walking or driving.

The LACBC and Multicultural Communities for Mobility are partnering in a series of women-led bike rides and workshops dedicated to empowering women to transform their communities; the first is a Pomona Valley Ride this Saturday.

Santa Monica’s bike and pedestrian safety crackdown continues this Friday; enforcement is directed towards all violations, regardless of who commits them. So mind your bike Ps and Qs.

 

State

The board president of the Inland Empire Bicycling Alliance offers advice on how vehicular cyclists and bikeway supporters can find common ground.

A Santa Barbara letter writer complains about a pack cyclists holding up traffic on a local highway; he must have been driving pretty slowly to count the 75+ cars he claims were stuck behind.

Palo Alto plans to make things safer for high school students riding to school.

San Francisco’s Mission Bicycle Company provides a step-by-step example of how to get your stolen bike back.

 

National

Ambulances in my hometown now come equipped with bike racks so injured riders don’t have to worry about their rides.

After a deadly year for Wyoming cyclists, the state considers a three-foot passing law, while Indiana legislators introduce not one, not two, but three three-foot bills. And in Nebraska, which already has a three-foot law, cyclists ask for a law requiring drivers to pass cyclists the same way they would a car.

A Kentucky cyclist is intentionally doored by a passenger in a moving car.

New York City considers requiring side guards on large trucks to keep cyclists and pedestrians from falling underneath in the event of a collision, which should be a requirement everywhere.

 

International

A Vancouver letter writer says bike riders should be licensed, you know, like dogs; someone should tell him bicyclists subsidize the streets he drives on.

British cyclists don’t need a bike bell to warn drivers they’re around anymore, as long as the drivers have a Jaguar or Range Rover. But it’s a start.

An Israeli Indiegogo campaign is raising funds for a lampshade for your bike’s tail light, promising to make the light visible from every direction while reducing glare for those behind you.

The bicycling revolution has officially begun in the United Arab Emirates.

Caught on video: The Australian press panics when a “reckless” cyclist “dices with death” by passing slower traffic on a steep downhill. In other words, just like bike riders do everyday, all around the world.

Now that’s more like it. A Japanese man faces an attempted murder charge after stringing a wire over a bike and pedestrian path. On the other hand, Japan is cracking down on drunk, distracted and brakeless riders.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: It’s a sad day when even kangaroos don’t respect bike lanes; there seems to be a rash of ‘roo wrecks Down Under these days.

And a bicyclist miraculously lands on her feet and walks away when her bike is hit by a speeding car; I’m still not sure this one is real.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Rolls Royce driver shot by bike rider, Times looks at North Fig politics, NFL bike victory lap

January 20, 2015 / / 6 comments

Well, I wanted to live in a more exciting neighborhood.

Friday night, the sirens on the streets and news helicopters hovering above Hollywood signaled something big was up; as it turned out, LA real estate investor Kameron Segal was shot while sitting in his Rolls Royce, just blocks from out new apartment.

Fortunately, he’s expected to survive.

To make matters more interesting, the shooter was riding a bike, described variously as a 10-speed or racing bike.

Evidently, no one involved has ever heard of a road bike.

Or maybe seen a bike in the last 30 years.

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The Times examines the political conflict over the cancelled North Figueroa road diet and bike lanes, asking if it’s better to aggressively confront an elected official or work quietly behind the scenes.

Personally, I’d suggest all of the above, thank you.

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In a video that’s gone viral around the world, Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett commanders a police bike to celebrate the Seahawk’s come-from-behind victory on Sunday to secure a spot in the Super Bowl.

Naturally, the Taiwanese animation is just a little more dramatic.

Correction: I initially misidentified the animation as coming from Japan, when it’s clearly identified as Taiwan on the YouTube page. Thanks to James for the correction. 

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Local

The LA Weekly suggests a cheaper, and possibly better, way to patch LA’s crumbling streets.

Long Beach homeowners complain a new pedestrian path paralleling the beachfront bike path is too damn close to their homes.

El Monte is just the latest area city to step up police enforcement to prevent bike and pedestrian injuries; Anaheim is doing it, too.

KNBC-4 looks forward to March’s first-ever Valley CicLAvia, while the Weekly simultaneously holds their nose and says it’s about time.

You’re invited to ride with the Milt Olin Foundation and Yield to Life on February 22nd.

 

State

A Laguna letter writer says it’s those damn cyclists that make the streets unsafe, not all those angelic, law-abiding drivers. Well, okay then.

Back-in parking is much safer for cyclists and drivers — and so easy an 80-year old could do it.

Ten new bike infrastructure projects will be coming to the Bay Area this year.

Oakland rallies support for that bike rider who was robbed of his wallet after being hit by a truck; it’s worth noting the driver had his stolen, as well.

Natomas volunteers build bikes for 50 kids in honor of Martin Luther King day.

A Fresno-area man is arrested for threatening people with a knife while riding his bike inside a market. And mothers everywhere were proven right when his face did freeze like that.

 

National

City Lab looks at the problems associated with Biking While Black.

NPR says food bikes are crowding into food trucks’ turf.

A Portland company has developed a $50 bike counter that could revolutionize bike planning; LADOT should order a thousand or so.

That hit-and-run Baltimore bishop has checked into rehab after posting $2.5 million bond; these days, that’s the first resort of a scoundrel.

A German cyclist receives a $21 million settlement for the life-changing injuries he suffered when he was hit by a truck in Virginia while on a tour of the East Coast.

A representative of the Bike League sees first hand just how bike friendly Southwest Florida isn’t.

 

International

That UK van driver caught on video attacking a cyclist turns himself in to police, but the victim declines to press charges.

A British teacher quits his job to go on a 5,000 mile bike tour of Europe.

A new bike light projects an image of a bike ahead of you to alert drivers of your presence; the BBC talks with woman who developed it.

Even in The Netherlands, a driver flees the scene after running down eight bike riding teenage girls from behind, sending two to the hospital.

An Aussie cycling fan channels his inner superhero, preventing an inflatable arch from collapsing while using his other hand to catch a bike that was knocked off a team car.

Cadel Evans retires as Australia’s greatest ever pro cyclist.

The bikelash is in full effect Down Under, as a news columnist tells cyclists to get off their high horses since there was this one woman who got hurt when she evidently stepped out in front of a bike — never mind how many cyclists are hit by cars every day. And get off our tall bikes would seem more appropriate.

 

Finally…

Pubic enemy #1: A Florida woman crashes her car while shaving her genitals on the way to meet her boyfriend — with her ex-husband holding the steering wheel, no less. Ride a penny farthing in Bagdad by the Bay and the local weekly will call the cops on you; bet that doesn’t happen when Jay Leno takes one of his antique cars out for a spin.

And pro cyclist Mark Cavendish finally snaps when asked if biking is really, truly 100% clean; well, maybe not 100%. Then again, Stuart O’Grady, like Bill Clinton, only did it once. Honest.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Violence & Crime / Tags: , ,

Do something today to make the world a better place

January 19, 2015 / / 2 comments

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

— Dr. Martin Luther King

Enjoy your holiday — assuming you get one — but take a few minutes to remember why we celebrate it. Then do something about it.

I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

 

Category: General /

Morning Links: CicLAvia comes to the Valley, bike confusion east of Barstow, and why our roads are dangerous

January 16, 2015 / / 3 comments

CicLAvia Valley MapThe route for the first ever — but far from last — San Fernando Valley CicLAvia has been announced.

The March 22nd open streets event will follow Ventura and Lankershim Blvds, and be the first of four this year; later stops include Pasadena, Culver City/Venice and the ever popular Heart of LA route.

Th best part is, for those of us south of the Hollywood Hills, Metro’s Red Line will drop you off right to the middle of the route.

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Adventure Cycling notes that it either is or isn’t legal to ride on Interstate 40 east of Barstow.

According to Caltrans, bikes are banned from the highway, even though the only alternate on famed Route 66 was washed out last year.

On the other hand, signage on the Interstate clearly says bikes are allowed.

Nope. No confusion there.

Thanks to prinzrob for the link.

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In a touching must read piece, a New York cyclist opens her heart, and her wallet, to the pregnant girlfriend of the man who stole her much loved bike.

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In another must read, a writer clearly explains why the current rules of the road don’t keep people from dying. In fact, they’re often a contributory factor — including the 85% rule used to set deadly speed limits throughout the US.

And it includes this statement from the executive director of New York’s Transportation Alternatives, which should become the new mantra for every traffic planner and government official.

“It’s completely unacceptable for someone to die in a plane crash or an elevator,” he said. “We should expect the same of cars.”

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Local

Streetsblog looks at what may be a positive end to the long-running fight over bike lanes on North Figueroa. I’m not holding my breath, but I’m willing to be surprised.

Milestone Rides offers six road safety tips for dealing with angry drivers, noting it’s not if you’ll be harassed but when.

Things are getting serious in the campaign for the March LA city council election. This weekend you’re invited to help canvass for Jose Huizar, one of the most effective voices for bike riders on the city council, on both Saturday and Sunday. Huizar is in what promises to be a tough re-election battle against termed-out county commissioner Gloria Molina.

Somehow I missed this one earlier this month, as Boyonabike discusses bike advocacy and the importance of getting involved to change our streets.

 

State

Calbike looks at the state’s bike bests of 2014, including the hiring of Seleta Reynolds to head LADOT and Tamika Butler as Executive Director of the LACBC.

San Clemente plans to beautify a bike trail along the beach; replacing the guard rail with a planted median should improve safety for riders, as well.

No bias here. After a Palm Springs cyclist suffers major injuries in a collision with a van, all the local paper seems to care about was the road closure.

Wait, what? A Palo Alto commissioner wants a new bike and pedestrian bridge redesigned to make it less of a landmark; maybe what he really means is less expensive.

A San Francisco jury awards $4 million in damages after concluding the truck driver who killed a San Francisco bike rider was negligent in causing her death. Police had brushed the case under the rug, blaming the victim until a member of the local bike coalition found security camera footage that captured the impact — which the SFPD hadn’t bothered to look for. Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

 

National

Virtual traffic lights on a heads-up display promises to revolutionize driving. Of course, no one else will be able to see them, but who really cares about cyclists or pedestrians, anyway? Thanks to John Montgomery for the tip.

A Nevada video shows how to sell Vision Zero to a skeptical public.

Bike-friendly Colorado gets it. The state’s governor calls for a system of bike trails connecting the entire state. A Colorado professor says drivers think we’re rude if we obey the law and criminals if we break it. And Denver will close a busy interstate highway through the heart of the city to install a new bike and pedestrian bridge.

Cheyenne, Wyoming considers bailing on plans for bike lanes on a pair of busy streets, since people only ride bikes for recreation and no one would ever actually use one to get anywhere.

Now that’s more like it. Nebraska considers a far tougher version of the three-foot passing law, requiring drivers to change lanes to pass a bike rider, or give three feet if that’s not possible.

Evidently, they take traffic crime seriously in the Midwest. A Nebraska driver who fled the scene, leaving left a cyclist paralyzed from the neck, down gets six to ten years in jail, while a hit-and-run driver who killed a Kansas cyclist is sentenced to 11 years on a second degree murder charge.

Even in Iowa, a new apartment building is being designed around the needs of bike riders.

The spin has begun. The Austin TX paper says the cancelation of last Sunday’s national cyclocross finals was a mutual decision between city and race officials to protect heritage trees; USA Cycling’s VP of national events says not so much.

Interesting case from New Jersey, where an appeals court ruled that someone who texts another person when they’re behind the wheel can be held responsible for any injuries caused by the distraction.

Bad road design may have been a contributing factor in the case of the allegedly drunken, hit-and-run Baltimore bishop who killed a popular cyclist last month. And the city’s new draft bike master plan calls for cutting the red tape and getting serious about bike improvements — especially with intoxicated prelates careening around the streets.

 

International

An Australian writer who doesn’t ride a bike says outrage over the anti-bike Family Feud question is misplaced, while a cyclist responds with eight annoying things a bike hater might say.

A road raging Singapore cyclist is lucky to get off with a light charge after throwing his bike at a car; of course, no reason is given for why he might have been so angry with the driver.

 

Finally…

If the police catch you in the act of cutting the cable on a key-operated bike lock, don’t tell them you forget the combination. An Aussie family of four and their two dogs travel 3,700 miles by bike along the country’s coast, subsisting on what they could forage along the way — including road kill.

And caught on video: a Brit cyclist is knocked off his bike by a van, then attacked by the driver; police are looking for the victim to investigate the case. Be patient, it get’s interesting about 50 seconds in. And thanks again to John McBrearty.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Justice denied and threats against cyclists, and it’s time to give up some of that good bike blood

January 15, 2015 / / 6 comments

Sometimes there seems to be a common thread in the day’s news.

This time, it’s a tale of threats and justice denied. At least, if you’re on a bike.

In a must read from Colorado, a cyclist describes the collision that totaled his bike — and nearly totaled him — when he was rear-ended by a driver doing an estimated 35 mph.

Yet when an officer from the highway patrol showed up, he had apparently decided what had happened before he even got out of his car. And gave the rider a $24 ticket for not getting the hell out of the way of the truck that hit him.

Then there’s the case of a Virginia driver who was convicted on two misdemeanor counts after buzzing a group of cyclists, then threatening them with a gun.

Yet despite threatening the lives of five innocent people, he walks away without even a single day behind bars.

And don’t even get me started on the schmuck who robbed an Oakland bike rider as he lay unconscious in the street after being hit by a truck; the victim’s mother says a heart defect has compounded his injuries and left her son clinging to life.

Hopefully they’ll catch the thief, lock him up and shove the key where the sun don’t shine.

Then there’s the idiot who tossed tacks on a busy Portland bridge popular with bike riders for the second time this week.

It may not sound like a big deal.

But a sudden flat can cause a cyclist to lose control and fall, possibly resulting in a serious injury. Or worse, if it causes him or her to fall in front of oncoming traffic. And even a sudden swerve after spotting the tacks in the roadway could be dangerous.

Police tend to treat incidents like this as a simple prank. When they should be investigated as an assault. Or at least an attempt to intimidate — if not terrorize — people exercising their legal right to ride a bike.

But at least authorities are taking the case of the drunken hit-and-run Baltimore Bishop seriously, holding her on $2.5 million bond.

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Red Kite Prayer urges you to perform a life saving act by donating blood, and putting those bulging bike riding veins to good use during National Blood Donor Month.

I couldn’t agree more.

I used to donate on a regular basis until health issues forced me to stop, losing count at somewhere north of five gallons of my own high test A-positive over the years.

Way north. Because after awhile, how much just didn’t matter anymore.

What did matter was that it was, perhaps, the only entirely selfless thing most of us will ever do; all you’re likely to get out of it is a good feeling and a cookie or two.

I have no idea what happened to that blood, who might have gotten it or why; I can only trust that it went to people who needed it. And hopefully made a difference.

With the exception, that is, of a single pint that went to my own wife before her own major surgery.

Thankfully, she came through with flying colors.

But showed no more interest in riding a bike than she had before.

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San Francisco bike bag and clothing maker Mission Workshop is opening up on Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake.

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No. Just no.

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A new website and Twitter account promises to cover all things bike in the San Fernando Valley.

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Local

Richard Risemberg looks at the proposal for five blocks of complete streets on North Figueroa.

KCET will air a report on last December’s South LA CicLAvia next Wednesday.

Been awhile since we’ve heard from the Department of DIY, which took it upon itself to remove sand blocking the usually bikable shoulder on Lincoln Blvd. Seriously, it shouldn’t be up to bike riders to keep our streets safe to ride.

Congratulations to Cindy Decker of Performance Bike in Long Beach on winning one of ten Women’s Bicycle Mechanic Scholarships; the winners were selected from over 800 applicants nationwide.

 

State

Orange County pulls the plug on Fullerton’s less than successful bikeshare program, which cost taxpayers $800 a ride.

Apple could be planning to take on GoPro with a more aero cam that can be mounted on a bike helmet. And would undoubtedly connect to your other Apple gear.

How slow can you go? Marin County is reducing the speed limit on a popular bike path to just 10 mph to cut down on conflicts with pedestrians.

 

National

Note to world: Racism ain’t funny. And yes, “jokingly” accusing black people of riding stolen bikes is racist. Especially when biking while black is still a problem in this country.

You may be able to tour Mesa Verde National Park on a rented bike next time you go.

Nice story from my home town, as two bike shop owners pitch in to replace a little girl’s stolen bike.

Four Texans are under arrest for running a high-end bike theft ring; one member stole $70,000 worth of bikes in seven cities.

VeloNews calls Sunday’s rain-delayed national cyclocross championships a disaster.

If you build it, they will ride. Bike traffic is up 81% in a single year after a protected bike lane was installed on a Minneapolis bridge.

New York is reworking streets and intersections, and adding 50 miles of protected bikeways, as part of its push to reduce traffic deaths — something LA will have to do if the city’s newfound commitment to Vision Zero will ever be more than a vague promise.

 

International

British authorities search in vain for a cyclist who may have been swept out to sea by a rogue wave.

An Irish writer says it shouldn’t be a matter of us versus them when 80% of cyclists have a drivers license and one in five drivers ride a bike.

Italian soccer team Cesena will wear pink this Sunday to honor legendary cyclist Marco Pantani.

More progress, as an African team will compete in the Tour de France for the first time this year, after participating in last year’s Vuelta.

An Aussie columnist says bike licenses are worth trying to curb bike-born bullies; after all, it’s worked so well to stop bad behavior by motorists. Or maybe it’s the drivers who really are arrogant.

 

Finally…

The bikelash is alive and well in Down Under, even popping up on the Aussie version of Family Feud. Your new Bern could bear the mark of Wu Tang.

And caught on video: Probably not the best idea to steal an unattended Philadelphia police bike; they tend to take that shit seriously.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,
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